Mackinac Island meteorite was found on Mars by the
''Opportunity'' rover on October 13, 2009.
History
Mackinac Island was the third of three iron meteorites encountered by the rover on
Meridiani Planum
The Meridiani Planum (alternately Meridiani plain, Meridiani plains, Terra Meridiani, or Terra Meridiani plains) is either a large plain straddling the equator of Mars and covered with a vast number of spherules containing a lot of iron oxide or ...
within a few hundred meters, the others being
Shelter Island and
Block Island
Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...
.
Mackinac Island may have fallen on Mars in the late
Noachian period
The Noachian is a geologic system and early time period on the planet Mars characterized by high rates of meteorite and asteroid impacts and the possible presence of abundant surface water. The absolute age of the Noachian period is uncertain b ...
and is extensively weathered.
See also
*
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the entr ...
*
Bounce Rock
Bounce Rock is a football-sized primarily pyroxene rock found within the Meridiani Planum of the planet Mars. It was discovered and observed by the Mars Exploration Rover ''Opportunity'' in April 2004. The rock was named for it having been struc ...
*
Glossary of meteoritics
This is a glossary of terms used in meteoritics, the science of meteorites.
#
* 2 Pallas – an asteroid from the asteroid belt and one of the likely parent bodies of the CR meteorites.
* 4 Vesta – second-largest asteroid in the asteroid b ...
*
Heat Shield Rock
Heat Shield Rock is a basketball-sized iron-nickel meteorite found on the Meridiani Planum plain of Mars by the Mars rover ''Opportunity'' in January 2005.
Informally referred to as "Heat Shield Rock" by the Opportunity research team, the m ...
*
List of Martian meteorites
This is a list of Martian meteorites i.e. meteorites that have been identified as having originated from Mars.
Of the over 53,000 meteorites that have been found on Earth just 99 had been identified as Martian . On 17 October 2013, NASA reported, ...
*
List of meteorites on Mars
This is an alphabetical list of named rocks (and meteorites) found on Mars, by mission. This list is a sampling of rocks viewed, and is not an exhaustive listing. A more complete listing may be found on the various NASA mission web sites. This lis ...
*
Oileán Ruaidh meteorite
*
List of surface features of Mars imaged by ''Opportunity''
References
2009 in science
Mackinac Island
Meteorites found on Mars
Rocks on Mars
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